Winner of the First Annual Libertas Essay Contest’s People’s Choice Award
With 30 submissions in our first annual essay contest, three essays emerged as contenders for the People’s Choice Award—the $500 prize given to the author whose essay received the most Facebook “likes” by...
Two Sides of the Same Stick
Libertarianism has a media problem. Few reporters and pundits understand how to fit us into the paradigm they cling to, that of the false left/right spectrum in political philosophy. They look “left” and see...
An Alternative to Financing Public Works: A Case for Privatization
For the last five years the U.S. economy has been in the dumps. Yields on savings and CDs have plummeted. Corresponding borrowing rates have been attractive for households, and, apparently, states and municipalities as well....
Utah’s UTOPIA: Necessary Infrastructure or an Illegitimate Pseudo-Market?
A showdown in Orem earlier this week highlighted some of the (significant) problems faced by the Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency, commonly known as UTOPIA. It also puts on open display the rampant violation of...
Reviving the “Principles of ’98”
Many people feel that there is no hope in standing up to a tyrannical federal government. This despair is understandable, but unproductive. We can find hope in the knowledge that many of the federal government’s creators...
Federal Judge Strikes Down Utah’s Hairbraiding License Requirements
Jestina Clayton was raised in a village in Sierra Leone and was taught traditional African hair-braiding. Now living in Centerville, Utah, Clayton wanted to provide these services to a growing niche market. She started her own...
Drop the F Bomb, Go to Jail
KSL reported last night that Ogden city officials are responding to violence at kids’ sporting events by proposing that profanity be outlawed. To justify this component of the ever-increasing nanny state in Utah, Ogden...
Realizing True Personal Responsibility and Individual Accountability
Both sides of the political aisle claim a near monopoly on accountability and responsibility while demonizing the “other side” for its irresponsible behavior. These ideals, however, have changed meaning throughout the years....
Keep the Sabbath Day Holy, Or Else!
With a vote of 3-2, the Highland City Council recently lifted longstanding restrictions that prohibited businesses from operating on Sunday. After much debate and community input, councilmen Tom Butler, Scott Smith, and Tim...
What Do We Mean By Liberty, Exactly?
Since our launch, we’ve fielded a variety of questions from curious Utahns wondering more about what we’re up to. One question recently came in which merits a public response. A reader asks: In your view, what is...